


With You (You'll Find Me)

by electricteatime



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prompt Based, Running Away, finding each other, relationship implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 00:04:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8229361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricteatime/pseuds/electricteatime
Summary: Based off of this prompt from spitefulwolf on tumblr (link in notes): "I need a fic of Stiles leaving Beacon Hills to find Derek because he can’t deal with that town and it’s people anymore.I want Derek doing some grocery shopping and then Stiles scent hits him hard and he just kinda whimpers and follows it till he finds Stiles there looking at him.I want Derek asking Stiles how did he find him and Stiles just shrugs and says he had a feeling.I want Stiles following Derek to his car when Derek tilts his head motioning to the parking lot because they don’t need words.And then finally when they’re inside Derek’s little apartment (there’s nothing fancy about it but it’s homey and there are pictures of cora and him on the walls) Stiles finally crumbles and Derek just holds him."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt found here: http://spitefulwolf.tumblr.com/post/150130739855/ if you enjoy this fic then I encourage you to like/reblog the prompt on tumblr.

*

It takes a while.

The first time he’d thought of leaving had been years ago at this point, back when he’d though that he could take on the world and come out just fine but dreading the thought of putting the people he loved in danger. You’re always in danger if you live in Beacon Hills, he’s known that for a long time now but somehow it’s hurting more these days. He can’t go to school without seeing a spot where somebody got hurt, can’t go to the store without remembering the way someone’s blood had stained the road beneath him, he doesn’t even dare step foot in the woods anymore. His hometown has been turned into a battlefield, there are moments of respite but the fight always comes back to them. Stiles is tired of being at war. 

So it takes a while to gather the courage to actually walk away, knowing he’s leaving behind people he would die for, but just for a while he’d like to feel like he won’t have to. He’d been lucky at first, the first few fights they’d had he’d escaped relatively unscathed but it’s been years and he hasn’t always gotten lucky. There are so many scars, going so far back that most he couldn’t even tell you how he’d gotten them, if he breathes too deeply his ribs ache from the layers of fractures and a break that had the doctor who’d set them frowning in concern and handing him a leaflet about physical abuse. He’d thrown it in the trash on the way out of the hospital and spent an hour sat in the parking lot staring into space. He feels so much older than his nineteen years. He thinks he won’t have many more if he stays here.

He leaves his Dad a note, it’s long, apologetic but he thinks he’ll understand. Says he’ll call when he’s ready, asks him not to come looking. The message he sends to Scott is similar, but shorter. He turns off his phone when he calls, not wanting to face him again before he’s fixed whatever it is he needs to and starts up the jeep before he can come running over. He’s just over two hours out of the town before he feels like he can finally breathe again.

*

Derek is different now.

Life hasn’t been kind to him, but by far the last few years have been the kindest. Leaving hadn’t been easy, not when he’d had plenty of reasons to stay but for the first time since the fire and maybe before that he feels like he can be gentle with himself. With other people, even. It’s exactly what he didn’t know he’d been looking for.

If he was honest with himself, when he’d left he’d been running away more than anything. Running from his past, from people who expected things from him that he couldn’t give, people who didn’t expect anything but he’d give so much for. Somewhere in the middle of everything he’d lost himself. The life he lives now is simple, it isn’t exciting at all but it’s his. He works at the library, doesn’t need the money but it feels so good to be doing something productive and something he enjoys. People wave to him when they see him, when it happened for the first time he’d managed to get home before the panic attack came, but it served as a reminder of what he could be. Who he could be when he was making his own choices. Almost everything he does these days feels like freedom.

He often thinks of him, refuses to use his name but he thinks of him. Wonders how he’s doing, hopes he’s okay. Once he’d called him, middle of the night from a new number that Stiles wouldn’t have registered as his. The boy had picked up with a ‘hello?’ that sounded so tired, and Derek hung up the phone before he made any sound that gave away how relieved he’d been. He doesn’t know if anyone would think to tell him if anything had happened to Stiles and it had scared him enough to reach out just enough to make sure. Derek doesn’t know if Stiles knows it was him, but he hopes he thinks of him too sometimes. It’s the only thing he misses.

*

Stiles drives for days. He doesn’t know where he’s going, not really, but he has an instinct and he’s following it. Somewhere deep down he knows what it is he’s looking for, but he doesn’t want to acknowledge it in case he doesn’t find him. He doesn’t think he could stand the disappointment. So far he’d only stopped for gas, food and motels. When he can’t find them he sleeps in his jeep. None of it feels too safe, but it manages to feel safer than his bedroom at home and for that he sleeps better.

He hasn’t stopped anywhere yet, not longer than an hour, two at most. There are times when he almost feels like turning back, because he knows logically that this is a pointless mission, there’s no way he could find him like this. But the thought of being close and turning back makes his heart ache and he presses on.

Two days later, he decides to spend the day in the small town just beyond the motel he stayed at the night before. He tells himself he needs a break from driving. Resolutely ignores the feeling in his stomach like it matters to stay here. Just one day won’t hurt.

*

There have been a number of times in Derek’s life where he has thought he may be going crazy, since he moved here he hasn’t experienced it. But he is now.

He has a routine these days. It’s a Thursday, his day off, and on Thursday’s he goes shopping. The store is small but he knows it now, it’s familiar. The girl at the checkout always asks how his day is going in a way that’s more than the perfunctory greeting for strangers. He’d never thought that he would find grocery shopping a pleasant routine. This isn’t routine though, so far from it that he stops midway down the aisle, getting a strange look from a woman pushing a baby as she moves past him. He’d know that scent anywhere, but it isn’t one that belongs here, it’s one that can’t be here. He only realises that his grip is too tight when the bar of the shopping cart creaks in his hands and he lets go abruptly, taking a step back. Derek can’t move, he feels lost and frozen in place as the faint scent from before grows stronger. When the boy it belongs to turns the corner at the top of the aisle Derek makes a small sound somewhere between disbelief and longing, and can’t even bring himself to feel ashamed for it when Stiles looks up.

*

They’re staring at each other. They stare for a long time and it’s Stiles who takes the first step forward, Derek is surprised he doesn’t back away. Instead he lets him come closer, too close when he should be miles and miles away from here and it’s all he can do not to wonder if the universe is just playing a cruel joke on him.

“Derek,” it’s soft, too quiet for anyone else to hear but it breaks the spell and Derek steps back a little, looking him up and down just to make sure he’s actually there.

“How…” he doesn’t manage to form the question, but Stiles understands anyway. He shrugs a shoulder and looks down at his feet in a gesture so familiar Derek’s heart aches with it.

“Just, you know. Started driving. Had a feeling. Ended up here.” It’s not really an answer but he takes it, it’s enough. This time when he looks him over he does it a lot more closely. Now he’s sure he’s here he can see what he didn’t before. Stiles looks exhausted, in a way Derek knows all too well. He’s clearly been looking after himself but there’s still something lost about him, something that doesn’t sit quite right with his memories. The years have changed him too, he supposes.

The decision is made with a small nod of his head. He puts a gentle hand on Stiles’ arm and gestures out to the parking lot when Stiles looks up at him. Stiles smiles, it’s weak but it’s there and Derek offers his own as he guides him outside.

*

They stay silent all the way back to his apartment, an unspoken agreement between them that they don’t need to break this just yet. He knows they need to talk, there’s a lot they’ve missed, a lot they need to understand but right now isn’t the time. Stiles looks small in the seat next to him, almost uncertain that this is where he’s supposed to be. Derek reaches out across the console and takes his hand.

“It’s not much,” he says when he opens the door, gesturing him inside. “But it’s nice. The lady next door has a cat that likes to visit and I’m not far from the woods. They actually have wolves here so full moons aren’t a problem.” It feels strange to explain his life to him, they knew each other too well once, he thinks perhaps they still do. Stiles doesn’t say anything in response though, just nods and wraps his arms around himself, uncharacteristically quiet and still. He can’t stand it.

Derek closes the small distance between them, reaching out and pulling him into a hug, tucking him in close. Stiles holds out at first, but after a moment he gives and Derek can feel him shaking even as he wraps his arms around him and clings on. “Hey,” it’s gentle, and he wraps an arm around his waist, other hand cradling the back of his head when he catches the sharp scent of tears. “It’s okay, you’re okay.” It’s the closest he’s been to someone in a very long time, and despite the circumstances it feels like the only thing he’d been missing. “We’re okay,” he assures him.

“I found you,” he answers, tightening his hold to a point where he would be uncomfortable if he were human. “I found you, you’re here, I found you.” He whispers it over and over like it might stop being true if he doesn’t keep saying it.

“You found me.” Stiles’ next breath catches on a sob and Derek hushes him, running his fingers through his hair. He doesn’t know what happened to bring Stiles out here but he knows whatever it is this is something he needs, and Derek is more than happy to give it to him. There hadn’t been someone to do it for him when he’d needed it, and he isn’t going to let go until Stiles pulls away.

They stay like that until morning gives way to afternoon, eventually Stiles clears his throat but he doesn’t move, just lets his breathing even out to something calm and steady. It hasn’t been like that in a long time.

“Can I- I mean, I think- I need-” the question is hesitant, small even in the quiet space and he can’t quite get it out but Derek just nods.

“You can stay,” it’s more than just permission though, Derek wants him to. The only piece of anything from his past that he’d let in here. The only piece that would ever fit. He can feel the way Stiles goes lax with relief, but he’s easy enough to hold up.

“I missed you.” The admission makes Derek close his eyes and breathe deeply, Stiles’ scent soothing an ache he’d been carrying with him ever since he left. There’s promise along with the words, and he allows himself to smile, tighten his hold on him just a fraction.

“I missed you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic please leave a comment. Even if they're tiny they mean the world to fic writers like me especially when we're trying to get out of a dry spell. 
> 
> You can find me at kieren-fucking-walker on tumblr where I'm currently accepting prompts and this fic was also posted there. I'm accepting prompts here too but they'll get to me quicker on my tumblr. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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